Feeding mechanism for seal-stamping machines



Sept. 2, 1941. F. L. STOFFEL 2,254,401

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEAL-STAMPING MACHINES,

Filed Jan. 27, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FM/vz 150 J ref/1,

Sept. 2, 1941. F. STOFFEL 2,254,401

L FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEAL-STAMPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 27, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Juverii'm Sept. 2, 1941. F, STOFFEL 2,254,401

FE EDING MECHANISM FOR SEAL-STAMPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 27, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 2, i941 FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEAL-STAll/[PING MACHINES Franz Leo Stoffel, Arbon, Switzerland, assignor to Hans F. Stofiel, New York, N. Y.

Application January 27, 1939, Serial No. 253,237 In Switzerland January 31, 1938 1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in feeding mechanisms for seal-stamping machines located between the hopper mechanism and the sealing mechanism; and the objects of my improvement are, first, to provide at the head of the blank-chute a pickup-and-kickout device; second, to afford facilities for the proper guiding of the selected blanks; and, third, to provide means at the foot of the feeding mechanism for positively and continuously feeding the blanks toward and under the stamp.

The subject of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a front view of an automatic machine in perspective.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the delivery device, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2a illustrates the forward end of the feeding chute.

Fig. 3' is a view looking into the rotary hollow drum body provided with an inner cone forming part of the delivery device and a view of the parts surrounding the hollow drum body.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of said hollow drum body with the magazine connected thereto. Fig. 5 is a side view of the end of the magazine, and

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the pivoting removing tool in the neighbourhood of the lead sealing tool.

In the drawings l indicates the driving shaft which is driven by means of a motor 2 and is supported on the housing 3 of the automatic sealing machine, and on which shaft there is arranged a driving pulley, not shown. The upper pulley is indicated at 4 and an endless belt passed over these pulleys is indicated at 5. An intermediate pulley driven by this :belt is shown at 6 and the endless belt is provided at regular intervals with pairs of wire grips 1, each forming two adjacent triangular projections. Each pair of said grips forms a lifter for seal caps or slotted blanks 5i arranged haphazard in a lower storage container 8, the endless belt 5 being passed through this storage container. The lifters or grips l on the belt 5 convey the'seal caps separately or continuously over the inclined plane 9 into the box in with an inclined base II.

A connecting passage or funnel l2 leads from the box It into the inner cone of a hollow drum body l3 over which is belt 5. The hollow body whose outer wall is cylindrical, is provided on the outside with grooves 44 and is supported on guide rollers 45, 46 which engage partly within off tracks for the seal cases.

of said hollow body. The hollow body is pressed on to said guide rollers by belt 5. The seal caps are introducedinto the cone which is open on both sides and widens towards the front through the narrow opening thereof.

In order to prevent a too quick passage of the seal cases through the cone, an arm l4 fixed to the machine frame 3 is arranged to project into said cone and has an axle IS on which is supported a flap 16 provided with perforations i6 and which swings freely thereon. Within drum -l3 there is provided a longitudinal groove l8,

whereas a spring I9 projects beyond the periphery of said drum l3 at the front.

Below drum l3, at the free end thereof, there is arranged a rubber roller 20 driven from intermediate shaft 6 and which rotates in the same direction as the drum l3 (indicated by arrow, Fig. 3). Above the rubber roller 2|] there branch The roller 20 serves to keep the seal blank riding on it to rotate until the slot in the latter is aligned with the end of the riding rail 24; if such an alignment does not take place during one revolution of the cone l3, the said spring 49 lifts the blank into the chute 22. The track or chute .22 on the left of roller 28 (Figs. 2 and'3) leads back to storage container B, whilst the other track or chute 23 on the right serves as a magazine for the seal caps passing to the sealing point. This magazine 23 is twisted so that the seal cases remain upright at the top while at the lower end of the magazine they leave the magazine with the base upwards.

In the magazine'23 there is provided a riding rail 24 preferably extending along one wall of said chute 23 on which the seal caps 5i pass from top to bottom astride said r-ail by means of slots provided in said caps. The end of the magazine is, as shown in Fig. 5, provided with a spring 25 which prevents a premature ejection of the cases.

Below the point of discharge of said magazine 23 there is pivoted at 27 on the machine frame feeding member 25 in the form of a lever swingable about 21, which member serves to receive said seal cases. Said lever 28 has in its rear part a guide slot 28 in which engages a pin 29 which is fixed to a horizontally arranged plate til. This plate is moved by means of the rod ill from an eccentric on the driving shaft I (not shown). The lever 26 carries at its forward end a plate 26 as well as an extension 32 curved radially about the middle point of the axle 2'! and on the centre longitudinal portion of which a riding rail said grooves and thus prevent axial movement 33 is similarly radially curved. The latter corresponds in height to the depth of the slot in the seal caps. Moreover, rail 33 has at the front end thereof a thickened or enlarged part 33 which decreases gradually towards the rear but which 7 increases sharply from the front.

On an extension 34 of the lever 26 adjacent the slot 28 there is fixed a spring 35 which has at its front part an extension 36'bent-over in a right angle. The plate 30 also serves to move backwards and forwards a slide 31 with which seall discs (not shown) held instacked relationin,

tube 38 are conveyed one by one from said m sh: zine tube 38 into the matrix 39.

The sealing tool is indicatedat 40" while '41;

indicates the stamp through which the seal 'cap and a cardboard disc from; magazine; 38, are brought together with the string of a packagell inserted in the slot 42 of the matrix 39.

A protecting plate 43 protects the front partof the lever 26 aswellas the seal.cap tobetransported therewith. v V

The method of operation of the automatic ma,- chine. is as follows:

The seal caps in the storage container 6' are, 7 by means of lifters 'l'fixed on the endless belt 5,

conveyed into the box lilfand from there through the connecting passage or funnel. l2 into the rearward end of the inner, cone 'of drum l3.' At

each passage of a seal cap the flap l6 is raised slightly by the said cap and then swings back.

The seal cap which arrives in the forwardpart of the cone I3 may now be lying either on its back or on the edge thereof. If it lies on the edge it passes during rotation of the, cone into the lower left quadrant thereof (Fig. 2). with. a

part of its edge in the longitudinalslot l8 and in the course of rotation of the cone it is caused to tip up so that it comes to rest on its back.

When the cap falls out of the cone it again tips 7 up and lies with the open side towards the front and with the side wall on the rubber roller 20. In

the front, and from this position it is thrown out by abutting against spring I9 into track 22. and back into the storage container 8.

This rejection of a seal, cap, may also occur if the same lies correctly on the rubber roller but the rotation of the cap with respect to rail 24 has not ended so that thecap is stillengaged by the spring l9.

Thecap issuingfrom the magazine 23 falls with the edges on the plate 26 of the lever 26 and with the slot on the rail 33 thereof. Spring 35 with extension 36 rests against the spring 25 and assumes the position I. The other caps in the magazine 23 fall down under the action of their own weight. As soon as the lever 26 withthe plate 26 is swung towards the tool, 40. arranged over the matrix 39', the spring 25 is raised on account of the thickened part 33' which projects above the slot of the cap and which thus provides an abutment to the cap lying on the plate 26,,

and this 'cap now comes completely out of range 36 of the spring moves underneath the spring 25 from the position I over the back of the cap inte position II so that during further movement to sealing tool the said case or cap cannot fall out from the plate 26'.

The next cap falling from out the magazine 23 then comes to lie on the end of the riding rail 33 behind the thickened'part 33 but always remains lying directly under the outlet opening of the magazine where it is held fast by the spring 25 whilst the fiat part 32 of lever 26 and the end of the rail 33 move from under this seal cap.

During'the feeding movement of the lever 26 from the left to the right two blanks are situated I upon the lever immediately upon leaving the position of Fig. 5, one of which issues from the magazine 23 at the beginning of the movement. This latter blank, therefore, first comes to sit immediately back of the front blank and gradually becomes more and more separated thereof upon the further movement of the lever 26. The front blank is fed into the sealing tool, whilethe rear blank blocks the magazine 23. The, lever 26, therefore, is moved from underneath the rear blank. "Upon the return movement of the lever 26, i. e. when the parts 29, 30, 3|, 3'! and 38 (Fig. 6) are moved backward and the lever 26 is swung from the right to the left, the plate 26 is empty and only the said rear blank is upon the lever 26. During this latter movement the tip of the rail 24 forms a stop for the said rear blank which blocks the magazine 23, when the lever 26 is moved from underneath the blank. Towards the end of the return movement, viz. when the swelling 33 comes to lie underneath this latter blank, the latter is tipped somewhat until it finally again occupies the position shown in Fi 5.

The location of the cap lying on the plate 26' in the sealing tool 40 is known in the art. It may also bementioned that extension 36 of the spring 35 connected therewith does not pass therewith into the tool 40, a part of the latter however serving as a stop for the spring extension 36 while the spring 35 passes into position III which, however, it again leaves in the backward movement of the lever 26 in order to return into its normal position'II.

Towards the end of thebackward movement of the, lever 26' the cap located on the end of the 1 rail 33 moves over the thickened part, 33' and finally passes into the position in front of said thickened part as shown in Fig. 5. Accordingly,

thespring 35 again comes into position I on account of the sp-ring'ZS acting as a stop for the acter described, comprising in combination a delivery device, a pickup-and-kickout device, and a feeding device proper; the, said first device comprising a rotary drumof internally conical section which widens towards the delivery end, means projecting into the latter for retarding the delivery of the said blanks, a longitudinal groove on the inside, of said drum for the purpose of positioning the said blanks, and a spring finger secured'to the rim of the delivery end of the said drum cooperating with the said second device;

the second device comprising a forked chute, a roller rotating at the top of said chute and below the said delivery end onto which the said blanks are delivered one by one for the purpose of positioning them with respect to the slots thereof, a riding rail for the aligned blanks in the one fork of said chute, and the other fork of the said chute forming the kickout channel for the nonaligned blanks which are lifted thereinto by the said spring finger; and the third device comp-rising at the lower end of the pickup channel a 

